Members of Rutgers University's faculty are raising questions about a deal the university signed with Pearson eCollege to offer online courses./span>John O'Boyle/The Star-Ledger

PISCATAWAY — Rutgers University faculty members are fighting a lucrative, seven-year deal the school signed with Pearson eCollege earlier this year to dramatically boost the number of classes and degree programs offered online.

Under the contract, Rutgers and the private company are scheduled to split tuition from students who sign up for online classes taught through Pearson's online site. But the graduate school faculty on Rutgers' New Brunswick-Piscataway campus approved a resolution today rejecting the contract and calling on the faculty union to negotiate better terms.

Many graduate school professors, who would be among those teaching the online courses, are concerned the contract gives too much money and control of courses to Pearson, said Deepa Kumar, a Rutgers associate professor of journalism and media studies who helped organize the meeting.

"Money raised through tuition should be spent on students, not profits for a company like Pearson," Kumar said.

The graduate school faculty's resolution "rejects all current and future proposals for graduate degree programs managed under the Pearson agreement." The measure also calls on the faculty union — the Rutgers American Association of University Professors-American Federation of Teachers — to have a seat at the table to bargain for a better deal.

A Pearson representative did not immediately respond to requests to comment.

Jerome Kukor, dean of the Rutgers Graduate School-New Brunswick, said faculty concerns about the Pearson contract are unfounded.

"Rutgers retains all academic decision-making, from admissions to what courses are offered and the content in all courses," Kukor said. "There are no threats to academic freedom, no corporatization of Rutgers education, no influence by Pearson as to who teaches courses – that remains solely a Rutgers decision, and there is no claim on any faculty intellectual property rights."

By attempting to derail the contract, a small portion of Rutgers' 1,500 graduate school faculty members are denying other faculty "the choice whether to participate in the Pearson program to develop and deliver new fully online degree programs for faculty and tens of thousands of Rutgers students," Kukor said.

Rutgers announced its deal with Pearson eCollege, a Colorado-based online education company, in January. Rutgers officials signed the public-private partnership to dramatically increase the state university's internet presence after years of resisting jumping into the complicated world of online degrees.

"We’re making a really major thrust," David Finegold, Rutgers’ senior vice president for lifelong learning and strategic growth, said at the time.

Under the agreement, the 65,000-student university would introduce online degree programs in numerous subjects and add thousands of online students by 2020. Pearson and Rutgers would initially split the tuition revenue evenly. Then, Rutgers would gradually get up to 65 percent of the revenue based on how many students enroll.

Kumar said professors have several concerns about the deal, including that it will lead to the hiring of part-time staff to teach online classes. Faculty members concerned about academic freedom also questioned a section of the contract that allows Pearson to remove online course materials it considers inappropriate.

"We don't want to give a third party the ability to censor," Kumar said.

About 160 members of the graduate school faculty signed a petition last spring raising concerns about the Pearson contract, Kumar said. About 75 faculty members attended today's meeting on Rutgers' Busch campus in Piscataway where the resolution rejecting the contract was approved. Thirty-nine faculty members voted in favor of the resolution.

Though the small number of faculty who attended the meeting represent a fraction of the 9,000 faculty members on Rutgers' three campuses, their opinion matters, Kumar said. Without the support of the professors who teach in the graduate school, Rutgers could have difficulty getting approval and accreditation for new online classes and degree programs.

Representatives of the Rutgers AAUP-AFT are scheduled to meet with Rutgers officials later this month to discuss the dispute, union officials said.